- JLPT N2
あまりの~に
NikoJLPT N2: あまりの～に (so... that)
あまり is kind of a tricky word. Just look at all of these definitions:
余り
あまり
1 the rest; the remainder; the remnant; the surplus; the balance; leftovers
2 too; too much; excessively; to excess; (not) very; (not) quite; (not) much
Grammar-wise, you're most likely to be familiar with when あまり is used to say "(not) very" or "(not) much."
For example, they might teach a sentence like this in your Japanese class:
私の娘はあまり食べません。
わたし の むすめ は あまり たべません。
My daughter does not eat very much.
If most of your usage of Japanese comes from hanging out with friends and family in casual situations, then maybe you'd be a bit more likely to hear the more conversational version of あまり, which is あんまり：
昨日はあんまり食べなかった。
きのう は あんまり たべなかった。
I didn't eat much yesterday.
Perhaps this comes as no surprise, but in this lesson we're looking at a completely different usage of あまり.
Specifically, you can use あまりの～に to say that the degree of something is extreme, and that it is producing an unusual result.
To put it more simply, あまりの～に is the "so... that" in phrases like, "I was so cold that I couldn't sleep at all."
In fact, that's our first example sentence:
昨夜はあまりの寒さに一睡もできなかった。
さくや は あまりの さむさ に いっすい も できなかった。
Last night it was so cold that I couldn’t sleep at all.
寒さ is "coldness." So...
あまりの寒さに
↓ ↓ ↓
あまりの coldness に
↓ ↓ ↓
so cold that
Not too tricky, yeah?
👷 Construction 👷
This is easy: Just put a NOUN between あまりの and に, like this:
あまりの ＋ NOUN ＋ に
あまりの寒さに
あまりの さむさ に
so cold that
あまりの理不尽さに
あまりの りふじんさ に
so irrational that
あまりの痛さに
あまりの いたさ に
so painful that
あまりの恐怖に
あまりの きょうふ に
so scared / scary that
Did you notice a pattern in the list of constructions above?
We have a さ at the end of most of those words.
It is common for the "‐さ form" of i-adjectives to appear inside of あまりの～に.
We explored how to make i-adjectives into nouns (of degree) in these two lessons:
White's Whitish White Whiteness
White's Whitish White Whiteness Continues
Anyway, it seems kind of self-explanatory to me that we're changing adjectives into nouns and inserting them into あまりの～に. I mean, the English translations are all using adjectives like "cold," "painful," and so on.
Moving on...
You have to make it through three more example sentences in order to achieve あまりの～に master status...
彼はなんでもかんでも人のせいにする。あまりの理不尽さに怒りを通り越して呆れてしまう。
かれ は なんでもかんでも ひと の せい に する。 あまりの りふじんさ に いかり を とおりこして あきれて しまう。
He blames everything on other people. He’s so irrational that I don’t even get mad at him—I just become astounded.
This sentence was hard for me to translate. I had to reread the second half about ten times before I finally figured out a way to put it into English.
I'm telling you this so that you don't feel too stressed if these example sentences are making your head spin.
Comprehending head-spinning sentences is key to passing N2 and N1!
初めての出産の時、あまりの痛さに「もう殺して！」と叫びそうになった。
はじめて の しゅっさん の とき、 あまりの いたさ に 「もう ころして！」 と さけびそう に なった。
The first time I gave birth, it was so painful that I almost screamed out, “Just kill me already!”
By the way (and I probably should have mentioned this earlier), unlike many of our N2 and N1 grammar forms, あまりの～に can actually be used in conversations. So feel free to try it out with a teacher or a language exchange partner.
夜道で突然誰かに後ろから抱きつかれた。あまりの恐怖に心臓が止まりかけた。よみち で とつぜん だれか に うしろ から だきつかれた。 あまりの きょうふ に しんぞう が とまり かけた。
I was walking down a street at night when someone grabbed me from behind. I was so scared that my heart almost stopped.
Literally: “street at night + で + suddenly + someone + に + behind + from + was embraced / was grabbed. + あまりの + fear + に + heart + が + almost stopped.”
That's all for this one.
お疲れさまでした！
Niko
